3 year old iMac help

[sharko55]

Hello friends, I have a 3 year old iMac that is having problems and I done quite a bit of trouble shooting but I wanted to make I can't fix it before I ship it off for 100 dollars to be looked at. This iMac was running perfectly before it started having problems, I ran WoW on almost all High setting and ran Steam games fairly well, Playable but not amazing. Anyways, Recently I had a problem on Steam where my games wouldn't download. They would attempt to verify the files but froze at 50% and wouldn't go any further. The computer was still running smoothly at this point. However one day they actually started to download and it was at ridiculously low download speeds (I know downloading has to do with the internet.) After that the computer was still running fine, for a little while started to get slower and slower and eventually it froze anytime I would have WoW open (randomly, sometimes I would play for hours before it froze) and Counter-Strike: Source froze too. At this point I called Apple and was told I couldn't be helped because I didn't have a serial key from the bottom of the box. So I tried to figure it out on the internet, I read that maybe its a problem with the hardware and I just have too much stuff. So I did a system restore. This didn't work, it had problems running chess and the internet at the same time and would freeze but it was a lot faster than before. So I tried to download WoW and see how it would work and if the problem would persist. I downloaded the downloader fine but when it came time for it start patching it wouldn't download at all it froze at 50% and just stayed. I tried to download steam, it downloaded the downloader perfect again but wouldn't even download 1% of it it stayed at 0 and the download bar was flashing. Now my computer is much better for speed at the moment could be better but there is one Mac certified company where I live and if there is a problem with just about anything the starting price to look at it is 100 dollars and to actually fix a problem runs 300+ for the most simple of problems. That being said I want to try and fix it myself so I can better understand the computer. I have ran a hardware test and it said there was no problems. I read that it doesn't always pick everything up but I'm hoping it was right. I don't know how to check the software but again help on that would be appreciated. I am counting on you MMO champion community help save my computer and my money. <3

[taekvideo]

Have you tried completely reinstalling the operating system? I don't really trust "system restore"s.
That would rule out software problems.
If you can't get it fixed yourself I definitely wouldn't recommend paying $300 to get it fixed... would be better off just getting a new computer... best time to upgrade is when the old one breaks xD

ps. paragraphs

[polosato]

format and reinstall OS !

[sharko55]

Have you tried completely reinstalling the operating system? I don't really trust "system restore"s.
That would rule out software problems.
If you can't get it fixed yourself I definitely wouldn't recommend paying $300 to get it fixed... would be better off just getting a new computer... best time to upgrade is when the old one breaks xD

ps. paragraphs

Well I put the discs that came with the computer in and installed it OS again I think, unless you do it another way. Yeah I am going to pay for it to get fixed if I have to. I installed snow leopard on it but haven't yet installed it again. Could that be a problem?

Edit: Also my download speeds are 160 kb/s I'm not sure if thats just my internet or that has anything to do with the computer being slow.

[mafao]

1. You can see the serial by going Apple in the corner -> About this Mac -> More info

2. If reinstalling the system did not solve the problem you most surely have a hardware problem. You can also run the Apple hardware test, it should be on one of your installation DVDs (press D button on boot)

3. If its a hardware problem, it sounds like failing Logic Board. These things are very expensive to replace. So if its really hardware, your best bet would be to sell the iMac as defective (there are plenty of people out there who would still pay a reasonable price) and get yourself a new computer. Would probably be cheaper than repair (easily around 700$ and more if its the Logic Board).

[iSythe]

I can't even think of what 1 thing could be causing all the problems. If you have done a clean install and are still having the same problems, you don't really have much option other then sending it in(as it is probably a hardware problem), it is another downfall of choosing a Mac that you have to live with.
And as taek said, i wouldn't want to spend upwards of $300 just to get something like that fixed. It might be worth it to just start looking for a new system.

Also, we can't really tell you whether your speed is good or bad if you don't tell us older speeds you were getting, what your connection speed should be and whether it happens on all downloads or just when using certain protocols(ie torrents).

[sharko55]

I can't even think of what 1 thing could be causing all the problems. If you have done a clean install and are still having the same problems, you don't really have much option other then sending it in(as it is probably a hardware problem), it is another downfall of choosing a Mac that you have to live with.
And as taek said, i wouldn't want to spend upwards of $300 just to get something like that fixed. It might be worth it to just start looking for a new system.

Also, we can't really tell you whether your speed is good or bad if you don't tell us older speeds you were getting, what your connection speed should be and whether it happens on all downloads or just when using certain protocols(ie torrents).

Alright so I took the computer in and he couldn't find a problem, he said he replaced the HD and I payed 300 dollars for that. I took the computer home and stuff still won't download and still is fairly slow. Could this problem be my internet? if he didn't notice any problems which he said he didn't. World of Warcraft still won't pass 50% on "Downloading the updated tools.."